Wire holder and dispenser assembly



Sept. 24, 1963 R. F. LEONARD WIRE HOLDER AND DISPENSER ASSEMBLY FiledJan. 12, 1961 ATTOR/VfKj United States Patent 3,104,778 WIRE HOLDER ANDDISPENSER ASSEMBLY Roy F. Leonard, 79 Spring Vaiiey Ave, River Edge, NJ.Filed Jan. 12, 1961, Eer. No. 82,290 9 Elaims. (Cl. 22134) Thisinvention relates to wire holders in which a number of wires, cut to apre-determined length, are stored in position for convenient removal,one at a time, at an assembly station in a manufacturing plant.

In the manufacture of electrical equipment, wires for installation in anassembly are cut to length and located on a bench in position to bereadily available to a workman. It is an object of this invention toprovide improved zpparatus for holding such wires, and more especiallyfor holding them in a relatively small space and at the same time in acondition which prevents the different wires in a group from gettingcaught on one another so that time is lost in untangling them.

Another object is to provide a wire holder and dispenser for housing alarge number of wires, including some of different lengths when desired,on a minimum of bench area. This saves time in requiring less frequentrenewal of the stock of wire on the bench and also reduces the factoryand bench space required for the assembly operation. The term dispenseris used herein in a broad sense to indicate a device that holds a partin position for convenient manual withdrawal, and not in the morerestricted sense connoting ejection of the part from within the holder.

One advantage of the invention is that the apparatus is portable and canbe loaded with cut lengths of wire in a stockroom for subsequentdelivery to any bench when and where wires of the stored size and lengthare to be used.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like referencecharacters indicate corresponding partsin all the views;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a wire holder made in accordancewith this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end view showing a modified construction of theinvention;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view, partly broken away, showing theinside of one of the wire containing units of the assembly illustratedin FIGURE 1, but with the Wires omitted;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the Way in which a groupof wires are connected to a support within the tubular unit of FIGURE 3,the view being taken at the level 5-5 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view, partly broken away and in section,illustrating a modified form of wire support for use in the apparatusshown in the other figures.

FIGURE 1 shows a frame 10 in which a group of tubes are supported. Thesetubes include a number of relatively short tubes 12 and other longertubes 14. The frame 10 is made of heavy wire with horizontally extendingportions 16 connected together by vertically extending portions 18.There are spacers 20 extending between the front and back of the frame10 and dividing the frame into separate sections for receiving each ofthe tubes 12 and 14.

A shelf 22 is supported by the frame 10 at the lower ends of thevertical portions 18, and this shelf 22 constitutes the lower portion ofthe frame and extends'along the entire width of the frame.

An easel frame 26 is connected to the frame It) by a pivot 28 (FIGURE2). This easel frame 26 can swing on the pivot 28 into a positionparallel to the tubes 12 and 14; but when in operative position, theeasel frame 26 is held by a strut 30. The strut 3% is connected to theframe 10* at a pivot 32, and is joined to the easel frame 216 by a hook34.

There are hooks 36 on the back of the frame 10 for hanging the framefrom a wall, when desired; and for hanging the frame on similar framesto provide a battery of wire holders, as shown in FIGURE 2.

In FIGURE 2 there are additional wire holders with frames 1!). Theseadditional wire holders are similar to the first wire holder, andcorresponding parts are indicated by the same reference characters as inFIGURE 1, but with a prime appended.

Each of the tubes 12 is preferably open at both ends, but the lower endis cut off on a plane at an acute angle to the axis of the tube so as toleave an end face 40 which is elliptical and slopes upwardly from theback of the tube so as to expose the lower ends of wires 44. These Wiresare housed within the tube 12 and the lower ends of the wires rest onthe shelf 22, unless otherwise supported from within the tube.

If the wires stored in the tube 12 are shorter than the tube, then theyare placed in the tube in a bundle and they are preferably supported bya rubber band 4 8 (FIG- URE 5) placed around the wires and twisted so asto grip the wires. The ends of this rubber band 48 extend aroundvertical portions 51} of a wire support 52 (FIG- URE 3) having upperends 54 that hook over the top edge of the tube 12. Although it is notessential, the vertical portions 50 are preferably provided with kinks56 for holding the rubber band 48 from sliding down.

The procedure with the rubber band 4 8 is to first piace the rubber bandon the vertical portions 50 of the wire support 52, and then insert thewires 44 (FIGURE 5) into the rubber band. The wires are then turnedendover-end a few times to twist the rubber band 48. This turning of thewires must be done with the rubber band located high enough on thevertical portions 50 to prevent the wires from striking against a loop58 that connects the lower ends of the vertical portions 5% of the wiresupport.

After the rubber band has been twisted to grip the wires as tightly asdesired, the wire support 52, together with the rubber bands 48 andwires 44, is inserted into the upper end of the tube 12 and pusheddownwardly in the tube until the hooks 54 prevent further downwardmovement. The wires will ordinarily be projecting from the top of thetube 12 when the support 52 has been fully inserted, and the wires arethen pushed down'in the tube until their lower ends project beyond theend face of the tube at a location where they can be gripped for pullingone wire at a time out of the tube, as needed.

The pushing of the wires down in the tube may cause the rubber band toslide downwardly on the vertical portions 50 of the wire support; or ifthe rubber band is held against sliding by the kinks 56, then the wirescan slide in the rubber band. The purpose of the oifset in the loop 53,best shown in FIGURE 4, is to prevent the loop 58 from interfering withthe downward movement of the wires 44.

When the wires in a tube 12 are longer than the tube, the wires are bentwith a hairpin bend, and they are inserted into the tube from the upperend with the bend of the wire lowermost. Wires placed in a tube in thisbent condition do not require a rubber band for holding them in the tubebecause the resilience of the wire tends to spread apart above its bendand the upwardly-extending pontions of the wire press against the insidesurface of the tube with sufficient friction to prevent the wires fromsliding out of the tube too easily.

When each length of wire is more than twice the length of a tube 12,such lengths can be housed in thelonger tubes 14. Sometimes it isdesirable to use shorter tubes with wires that are more than twice aslong as the tube. in such cases, the wire can be used with a supportingloop 65?, as shown in FIGURE 6. In this case, a single length of wire isshown in the tube 12 so as to illustrate the assembly more clearly; butit will be understood that a number of wires are similarly assembledwith the tube 12 and loop 6% FIGURE 6 shows a wire 62. having a hairpinbend 64 at its lower end. This bend is exposed at the bottom of the tubein the same way as the bends are exposed at the lower ends of the othertubes. One side of the wire, above the bend 64, has a termination 66within the length of the tube 12; but the other side of the wire has averticallyextending portion 63 considerably longer than the tube 12. Atthe upper end of the portion 68 there is another hairpin bend 7t) andthen the wire extends downwardly to a termination 72 somewhere betweenthe upper and lower ends of the tube 12. The upper hairpin bend 70 cannot be pulled down through the tube because it would hook on other wireswhen a workman attempted to pull it from the tube. To prevent such anoccurrence, the hairpin bend '75} extends around the loop 60, which ishooked over the upper end of the tube 12.

As the wire 62 is pulled down in the tube 12, to re move it from thetube, the vertical portion 68 moves downwardly and the portion of thewire beyond the hairpin bend 7b drags across the loop 60 in the mannerin which a rope passes across a pulley or deadeye, with the result thatthe hairpin bend 7b is shifted progressively toward the end of the wireand is eventually eliminated so that it can not catch on other wires inthe tube.

The tubes 12 and 14 are preferably filled with wire in a stockroom andmarked with legends 76 indicating the contents of each tube. This legendwill ordinarily be a parts number of the equipment being assembled at aworkbench.

When the tubes 12 and 14 are inserted into a frame at a workbench, orelsewhere, the shelf 22 keeps the wires from falling out of the tube;but when tubes are handled prior to insertion into the frames 10 or 10',it is desirable that the wires have sufficient friction within the tubesto prevent them from sliding out. It is for this reason that the rubberband 48 (FIGURE 5) is used with single wires which do not press againstthe sides of the tube in the same manner as the bent wires, as alreadyexplained.

It will be understood that the same assembly operation may require anumber of wires of different length. The

assembly of tubes shown in FIGURE 1 has single'wires' in the left-handtube 12 and in the two right-hand tubes 12. The single wires in thesedifferent tubes may be of different lengths and constitute differentparts numbers of the apparatus being assembled.

Some of the other tubes shown in FIGURE 1 are filled with bent wires, asindicatedby the hairpin bends resting on the shelf 22.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, but changes and modifications can be made and some featurescan be used in different combinations without departing from theinvention as deon which the retainer is hooked, a group of wires withinthe tube and between the portions of the retainer on opposite sides ofthe bend, and an elastic band extending around both portions of theretainer and aroundthe group of wires, the band being twisted on bothsides of the group of wires and between said group of wires and theadjacent portions of the retainer to f-rictionally grip the gnoup ofwires.

2. The wire supply holder described in claim 1, and in which the bend inthe retainer is in a plane at an angle to the length of the tube andretainer so that said bend is off-set from the group of wires, saidwires extending beyond the bend and beyond the open front of the tube.

3. A wire supply holder including a group of tubes extending upwardlyand open at their lower ends with the lower end face of each tubeextending upwardly so that the wall of the tube is shorter at the frontof the tube than at the back, a frame holding the tubes assembledside-by-side in a row with the lower open ends exposed at the front ofthe frame for lateral exposure of wire stored in said tubes and forconvenient successive removal of wires from said tubes, and means at theback of the frame for supporting the frame at the back of a work benchor other location where the wires are to be used, and in which there area plurality of frames and each of the frames holds a group of tubesextending upwardly and open at their lower ends, and assembledside-by-side in a row with the fronts of the lower open ends of eachgroup of the tubes exposed at the front of the frame, and each frame hassimilar means for supporting the'frame, and the supporting means is inposition to support eachfsuccessive frame from. one of the other framesand at the front thereof at a level that locates the open lower ends ofthe tubes in the successive frame at a level higher than the lower endsof the tubes in the first frame whereby the lower ends of the tubes I inall of the frames are. exposed from the front.

4. The wire supply holder described in claim 3 and in which the framesare made of wire elements, some of which extend horizontally across thefronts of the frames, and the means for supporting each frame includeshooks that engage said horizontal wire elements. Y

5. A wire supply assembly comprising an invented tube extending upwardlyand open at its lower end across the full width of the tube, a supportbelow the lower open end of the tube, the lower end of thetubeterminating in an end face extending at an acute angle to the horizontaland 'to the longitudinal axis of the tube, a frame holding the tube insuch a position that the highest side of the end face is at the front ofthe assembly and at a substantial distance above said support, and saidlower end face of the tube slopes upwardly at a relatively steep angleto the horizontal whereby wires in the tube have substantial lateralexposure through said open end and there is space enough between thesupport and the end of the tube at the front thereof for wires to beconveniently grasped and pulled from the tube through its open end, aplurality of lengths of wire within the tube and extending lengthwisethereof with ends of the respective lengths of wire extending beyond atleast the higher portion of the end face of the tube, the frame thatholds the tube including means for preventing angular movement of thetube about its longitudinal axis, and said support being in position tolimit movement of the lengths of wire in the direction of the axis ofthe tube.

6. The wire supply assembly described in claim 5, and in which there area plurality of tubes of relatively small diameter and connected to theframe in parallel relation to one another and with the bottom opening ofeach-tube facing forward and away from the frame.

7. The wire supply assembly described in claim 6, and in which there areretaining means for the wires in the tubes including resilient elementsto grip the wires with 5 yielding pressure so that the wires areretained by friction with said resilient elements.

8. The wire supply assembly described in claim 6, and in which thesupport includes a shelf adjacent to the lower ends of the tubes andsloping away from the end faces of the tubes in the direction of thefronts of the tubes and at an obtuse angle to the longitudinal axis ofthe tubes, the shelf being unobstructed from the front thereof.

9. The wire supply assembly described in claim 6 and in which there area plurality of lengths of wirein each tube, each of the lengths of wirebeing bent into a reverse bend but with the length of wire beyond bothsides of the bend bearing against inside surface of the tube and pressedagainst the surface of the tube by the resilience of the metal at thebend of the wire, and the wires being held against downward slidingmovement in the tube at least partially by the friction produced bypressure of the wire against the inside surface of the tube, each lengthof wire having its reverse bend at a lower level than the termination ofthe lower end of the tube at the front thereof whereby the reverse bendsof the wires are exposed and are in position to be gripped to pull thewires from the tubes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS331,484 Elam Dec. 1, 1885 556,068 Schloss Mar. 10, 1896 1,562,369Schmidt Nov. 17, 1925 2,881,947 Hancock Apr. 14, 1959 2,930,486 HooverMar. 29, 1960 2,958,261 Henig Nov. 1, 1960

1. A WIRE SUPPLY HOLDER COMPRISING A TUBE OPEN AT BOTH ENDS AND HAVINGONE END TERMINATING ALONG A GENERALLY DIAGONAL PLANE TO PROVIDE AN OPENFRONT AT THAT END, A RETAINER WITH A HOOK THAT ENGAGES THE END OF THETUBE REMOTE FROM THE END THAT TERMINATES ALONG THE GENERALLY DIAGONALPLANE, SAID RETAINER EXTENDING ALONG AT LEAST MOST OF THE LENGTH OF THETUBE AND HAVING A BEND THEREIN AND THEN EXTENDING BACK TOWARD THE END OFTHE TUBE IN WHICH THE RETAINER IS HOOKED, A GROUP OF WIRES WITHIN THETUBE AND BETWEEN THE PORTIONS OF THE RETAINER ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THEBEND, AND AN ELASTIC BAND EXTENDING AROUND BOTH PORTIONS OF THE RETAINERAND AROUND THE GROUP OF WIRES, THE BAND BEING TWISTED ON BOTH SIDES OFTHE GROUP OF WIRES AND BETWEEN SAID GROUP OF WIRES AND THE ADJACENTPORTIONS OF THE RETAINER TO FRICTIONALLY GRIP THE GROUP OF WIRES.